Sarah Tescher must feel a bit like Nick Fury.
She’s assembled one of the most decorated coaching staffs a high school program could ask for to lead the Durango DEVO team into this year’s National Interscholastic Cycling Association/Colorado High School League.
Garrett Alexander and Tescher will serve as head coaches for the Durango DEVO program, which is made up of teams from Animas High School and Durango High School that will train and travel together but also will compete against each other.
In addition to the head coaches, two teachers – one from each school – will assist with the coaching: Ashley Carruth from AHS and Ryan Montgomery from DHS.
Then there’s some of the standard DEVO coaches who will pitch in, as well: Sage Anderson, Howard Grotts, Josh McDowell and Chris Wherry.
“That’s a superstar coaching staff,” said Tescher, revealing her “Avengers” cast of all-star coaches. “I feel like we’ve got a little bit of everything.”
A quick who’s who:
Alexander is a longtime DEVO coach and an endurance racer for Twenty2 Cycles.
Tescher has coached the high school league teams for all five years of their existence.
Carruth assisted the program last year on more of a volunteer basis but will be more involved this coming season.
“Being able to develop a relationship outside of the classroom is something I really enjoy doing,” Carruth said. “I think it helps me understand my students.”
Montgomery teaches English and social studies at DHS.
Anderson also is a U-19 coach with DEVO and a collegiate national champion.
Grotts joins the coaching staff for the first time this season. He’s a professional cyclist with Specialized racing who last week placed third in the world championship U-23 race in Norway. Grotts is a Durango High School and Fort Lewis College graduate.
“Howard, obviously, is the best U-23 rider in the country,” Tescher said.
McDowell and Wherry are joining the high school staff for the first time, as well. McDowell recently graduated with a degree in exercise science from FLC. Wherry is a former pro-class national road champion.
“I’ve helped DEVO as a volunteer coach here and there,” Wherry said. “Sarah and I talked about (becoming a full-time coach). I heard it was a great program and thought it would be cool.
“It’s good to get kids who aren’t such really, really specific racers who are coming out of the high school to try something new. I think it’s a new, exciting thing to be a part of opening somebody’s eyes to cycling and getting them to enjoy what I enjoy.”
The coaches won’t exactly be working with scrubs, either.
Both teams finished in the top five of their divisions and fielded individual series champions last season.
“We’ll have kids that are going back, and they won the whole Colorado High School League last year, and they’re going back to defend their titles, mixed in with kids that just want to practice and ride,” Tescher said. “I think it’s important each coach can coach to all types of riders.”
Practice began Aug. 26, and the team’s first race was last weekend in Granby. They’ll race every other weekend until the state championship Oct. 18-19 in Eagle.
“Durango’s a pretty special place when you have people around town that have so much experience, and there’s such a humongous knowledge base here – like a kid going to a basketball camp with Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson as the coaches,” Wherry said. “It’s something special and unique about Durango to have people that have performed at the highest level of the sport helping you out.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
